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From Agaju Madugba, Katsina
Katsina State government says it recorded a major security breakthrough last Sunday following the successful repulsion of a large-scale bandit attack on Guga village in Bakori Local Government Area when hunters and the Katsina State Community Watch Corps killed more than 40 bandits including their top commanders.
A statement on Monday by the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Dr. Nasir Mu’azu, said that the attack occurred at about 5:40 p.m. on Sunday, when over 200 heavily armed bandits, led by the notorious kingpin, Idi Abasu Aiki, and supported by members of the Ado Aleru group from neighbouring Zamfara State, invaded Guga Village in an apparent reprisal attack.
According to the statement, “in an intelligence report obtained by the Security Operatives, the attackers intended to dislodge the local hunters and the Community Watch Corps safeguarding communities in the area before launching coordinated attacks on Bakori town and neighbouring villages.
“However, sustained intelligence gathering and surveillance enabled security personnel to deploy prompt and coordinated countermeasures, leading to a fierce confrontation that forced the attackers to retreat after suffering heavy casualties
“Consequently, more than 40 bandits were neutralised during the operation, while follow-up intelligence confirmed that about eight senior commanders of the criminal group were also eliminated.
“The notorious bandit leader, Idi Abasu Aiki was also reported to have sustained life-threatening gunshot injuries during the encounter.
“This success follows an earlier operation carried out on 7 July 2026 at Dawan Laila Village in Bakori Local Government Area, where the same criminal network suffered significant losses at the hands of the hunters and the Community Watch Corps.
“The latest attack was a desperate attempt by the bandits to regain lost ground and undermine the community-based security architecture established by the Katsina State government.
“Furthermore, the security operatives have commenced clearance operations in the area to recover abandoned weapons and other items left behind by the fleeing criminals, while surveillance and monitoring have been intensified to prevent any further security threats.
“The state government, however, expressed deep sorrow over the loss of five members of the hunters’ team who were fatally shot after they were caught outside the frontline while attending to personal shopping activities during the operation.
“These courageous patriots paid the ultimate sacrifice in defence of our communities.
“Lastly, normalcy has been fully restored in the affected communities and we reaffirm the government’s commitment to sustaining collaborative security operations aimed at protecting lives and property across the state”.
